Muskegon County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

154,086

100.00%

164,207

100.00%

In Poverty

23,506

15.26%

18,752

11.42%

Not in Poverty

130,580

84.74%

145,455

88.58%

11 Years and Under

30,663

19.90%

30,054

18.30%

In Poverty

7,599

4.93%

5,536

3.37%

Not in Poverty

23,064

14.97%

24,518

14.93%

12 to 17 Years

13,563

8.80%

15,868

9.66%

In Poverty

2,574

1.67%

1,980

1.21%

Not in Poverty

10,989

7.13%

13,888

8.46%

18 to 64 Years

90,141

58.50%

97,426

59.33%

In Poverty

11,261

7.31%

9,535

5.81%

Not in Poverty

78,880

51.19%

87,891

53.52%

65 Years and Above

19,719

12.80%

20,859

12.70%

In Poverty

2,072

1.34%

1,701

1.04%

Not in Poverty

17,647

11.45%

19,158

11.67%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.